SB Nation - Max Unger

Duck Soup: How Cal's Defense Can Break Down Oregon's Zone Read

Avinash — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:13:08 -0000

For a look at Cal's offense versus Oregon's defense, go here.

After watching last year's tape on Oregon's offense, I came to three conclusions.

I am so relieved we don't have to deal with Max Unger, maybe even more so than with Nick Reed (and that's saying something).
I was surprised Oregon didn't run the outside zone read much in the 4th quarter.
Jeremiah Masoli has a future in ballet. He's light on his feet, and it shows with some awkward-looking throws.

After watching last week's tape of Oregon versus Utah (thanks to danzig for sending that to me), I came to three additional conclusions.

Cal is getting their first big running test of the year in LaMichael James.
The Oregon offensive line is still piecing things together.
If Cal can stop the run, they will win this game, because Jeremiah Masoli seems to be auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance in the backfield.

Note: I probably got ~~all of these~~ ~~most~~ a few of these zone plays wrong (I'm sure I could've placed a few draws and counters in each vid too). If there's anything you see, let me know and I'll add your corrections in the post. Thanks again to ieeebear, who cut the videos for Cal's offense against Oregon's defense too.

Inside zone rush attack

(Music: Disconnected by Aceyalone, produced by RJD2, who was born in Eugene! Here's the instrumental.)

You're probably disconnected watching this. What do these runs mean? More elaboration, plus other facets of Oregon's offense after the jump (Scroll all the way down for play-by-play breakdown of each play in each video!).

How do you think Cal will disrupt Oregon's zone-read offense? Can we stop their ability to run the football?

There are so many details and subtleties in Oregon's offense that I can't really go into huge detail about this

Here are some of Chip Kelly's notes. (Hat-tip to Trojan Football Analysis for these valuable notes).

We give the running back the opportunity to run the same path every time he receives the ball. We call it a J-path. The step looks like the letter J. The running back takes a slight open step with is playside foot. His second step replaces the spot where the QB’s foot was. On this third step he starts to square his shoulders to the line of scrimmage. The running back takes his step and aims at the butt of the frontside guard.

...

The second fundamental on the play is the fake when you do not have the ball. It is not a great play if the QB hands off to the running back and watches him run every time. The QB fake is critical and he has to accelerate off the disconnect in the mesh area. The action has to look the same whether the QB keeps the ball or not.

...

The same applies to the running back. He cannot get the ball pulled and stop running. We grade the running back on his fakes. If he does not penetrate the line of scrimmage on his fake he gets a loaf. He needs to stay on the front side when he does not get the ball. Obviously when he has the ball he runs to daylight.
That is the concept of the play. It has to look like it is hitting one way and it has to go the other.

Alright, if that stuff confused you, here are the bullet points.

Usually on zone read plays one player is left unblocked, almost always a defensive end (In Cal's case, it's usually a linebacker because we run the 3-4). You'll see in the video above, in order, Mohamed, Alualu, Williams, Kendricks going unblocked on the first four plays, and similar shenanigans occur on subsequent showings.
Misdirection. The idea is to fool the defensive end rushing to the wrong side. Against the Bears, this happened on the second play from scrimmage (and the first play in the video above), with both Williams and Mohamed digging against the run and giving Masoli the perfect angle to break to space for the score.
Selling the handoff. Crucial. A bungled fake/real handoff could blowup the play, or worse, lead to costly turnovers. Sadly, the replay angles aren't usually good enough for me to tell if it's a good fake or a bad fake, and even I wouldn't really know the difference. Anyone who knows better on selling fake draw handoffs, tell us what we should look for in the comments!
If he has the rock, the running back tries to hit the hole quickly to evade the linebacker. He doesn't hit it immediately, but the inside zone is a power play for the running back.
If he's handling, the quarterback looks to stretch the field. You'll see Masoli almost always go north-south toward the sidelines, or angle away from the offensive-line package.
In either case, the fake allows for greater gaps to open for the defense, and this allows teams like Oregon (with fast, quick athletes).

I'd say this is probably the most important video to watch to get a sense of the 2009 Duck offense. Against Utah, Oregon was doing almost exclusively inside zone reads, at least on their successful plays. We'll see plenty of these looks on Saturday, I'd say at least 55-60% of the plays will have some variation of the inside zone read.

Interestingly, during the Utah game, Masoli sometimes went inside into the teeth of the defense on the inside zone, which makes you wonder how much he trusts his linemen to seal the gaps. That doesn't mean he won't go outside--he caught the Utes biting not once but TWICE on the backside, racing untouched to the end zone with nary a defender within range.

As for LaMichael James, as a freshman, he's definitely got moves. Against Utah there was one particulary impressive play where the right guard completely whiffed on his block, the D-linemen came racing in to blow up the play, and James adjusted, spun around, and raced through the crease for 25 yards. Wow. You can't teach that stuff:

Also, there are times where he can hit the hole, stop and then go again. Running backs who usually charge ahead full steam hit a defensive wall and pretty much go again, but when you stop and go it allows you to adjust, maybe fall down and pick up extra yardage. He picked up a first down that way. He's a little elusive and definitely has a smaller frame (5'9" 180 pounds), which could pose difficulty if the offensive line executes its blocks.

There are of course deficiencies in his game. Most notably, and understandably, he doesn't quite have the vision yet to find the gaps, and took several wrong moves that ended with him getting cradled by a Ute. But for a freshman to get 152 yards on 27 carries against a 10 senior Utah defense...most impressive. I'd probably expect similar numbers this week against Cal.

Outside zone rush attack

Music: The Game by Jurassic 5, instrumental track here.

Here's the other variation on the zone read. See the differences between outside and inside?

Chip Kelly talks about what's going on here (big ups again TFA).

The outside zone play is a complement to the inside zone play. The inside zone is a hole to cutback play. The outside zone is more of a hole to bounce play. The reason we run the outside play is to circle the defense. When you get good at running the inside zone the defenders begin to tighten their techniques and concentrate on squeezing the inside gaps.

If we feel that is happening or we start to get many twists and blitzes inside we run the outside zone play. It gives you speed in space and the offensive line can play with confidence when you have something to change the focus of the defense. We ran the outside zone play 122 times last season for 6.8 yards per carry. It is a good compliment to the inside zone play.

The blocking rules for the offensive line are the same as the inside zone. The difference is the aiming point of the offensive linemen. The "who we block" is the same, but the "how we block" is the difference in the outside zone. The linemen take a kick step to the outside and a crossover step to get up the field. The backside opens on the playside foot and loses ground. The farther you are from the point of attack, the more ground you can lose.

Again, bullet points for those who glossed over all that.

The big difference to notice between the inside and the outside zone run is the way the running back is moving his feet. Usually you'll see the inside zone run, the back is cutting to the hole and then cutting back if he can't find space. In the outside zone run, the Oregon back is usually running north to south until he finds a hole suitable for him to blast through. It's really difficult to discern the difference between the two, because sometimes a running back can get blown up on the coverage.
Look for that 90 degree turn. The moment a running back sniffs a hole, he turns right into it. Johnson was really good at this last year; Blount not so much against us, but better against other teams; James is a total unknown at this time.
You'll also see the blocking change a little. The O-linemen usually are moving forward on an inside zone read, here you'll see a lot more pulling or at the very least the backside opening up and moving to open holes in the area where the running back would turn 90 degrees inside.

Cal got killed on this play last year, as you can see during the last plays of the vid above. Signed, sealed, delivered by Max Unger. In the third quarter, Unger snapped, then immediately pulled and blocked out the unblocked defender. Every. Freaking. Time. You'll get some great clips near the end of the video of Worrell Williams getting engulfed like he was hugging Robert Paulson and Marcus Ezeff flying like a Dutchman.

If you wanted to say Unger was the most valuable offensive player, you get no arguments for me--he unleashed the runs responsible for the three sustained drives Oregon had the entire game, all in the 3rd quarter. Mysteriously though, I think Oregon ran the outside zone only once in the fourth quarter after falling behind by 10, and it didn't involve Unger. Thanks Coach Kelly!

Interestingly enough, against Utah, I don't think the Ducks went to the outside zone more than a handful of times. In the clips danzig sent me, I only noticed one involving James, and he was quickly chased down. I can kind of see why--at the moment the offensive line and downfield receivers aren't really doing their job grappling with their defenders, and the pull blocking really generates no momentum, not the way it did with Unger leading the charge. Utah's D-line had plenty of freedom to operate, and they had no trouble chasing down LaMichael going north and south.

This is probably where the Ducks miss Blount the most. He was unspectacular against the Bears and the Broncos, but he did have the vision to find a hole to cut to. Against the athletic Cal defenders, he was swallowed whole, but at least he gave the Ducks a second option in the zone attack.

Would Oregon try this anyway? I'd think they'd have to give it a shot, but the weapons that made this so effective (Unger, and his left guard pulling companion Jeff Kendall) aren't there, and Johnson and Blount are gone. That leaves Masoli as the only true weapon to the outside, and he hasn't nearly been effective as he was last season. I'd expect a lot of the plays to go inside, because the O-linemen at least seem competent at times doing this.

How should Cal beat the zone read?

Despite the succeses Oregon shows above, Cal has plenty of examples of them stuffing the run game. So it's not like the Ducks have gashed us. Several things are big on this front.

They need superior athletic play from the front seven. Cameron Jordan, Derrick Hill and Tyson Alualu got great penetration in the clips above, and Zack Follett, Mike Mohamed and Anthony Felder did some great work closing up the holes during the middle and later stages of the game. The athleticism needs to be on full display to make sure zone reads get blown up early and often, otherwise the Ducks might be able to break free for big, game-changing plays.

The front seven should have the experience and talent edge over the Oregon offensive line, but this is all contingent on the linebackers being solid in support. If the defensive line struggles at all in puncturing the gaps, Young, Kendricks, Holt, and Mohamed better be prepared to deal with Masoli's decision-making and make sure they don't freeze up on one or overpursue the other. They'll have plenty of unblocked opportunities, if the Ducks do stick with the inside zone rush.

Clamp down on the outside zone. It was only when they were turned to the outside and trying to chase Masoli and Johnson that the Bears nearly lost their grasp on last year's game. While Unger and Johnson are both gone, the Bears shouldn't take any chances with this. Any sniff of the outside zone read, bottle it up so that they don't think twice of doing it again. Keep the Ducks running in the middle of the field with the inside zone and take your chances with that.

Pass coverage

Music: Wylin Out (RJD2 Remix), check out the instrumental used in the video here.

There isn't really much to say on this front. If Oregon has to rely on their passing game to win, they're fucked. SoCal Oski elaborates.

I love [Masoli]. He is nothing but guts and determination. But he can’t throw a freaking ball. JTLight is right to place the blame on his shoulders — but it’s not really as if anyone should be surprised. Masoli is just not a passing QB. He’s a running QB who can make some passes some time if the planets are aligned and Ganesh is feeling extra happy. Otherwise, if Oregon needs his arm to win, they are in a bad place.

The key in this area for Cal will be to have solid zone pass coverage. Big emphasis on zone. Yeah, I know, some people will be bitching about this because Adam Weber to Eric Decker killed us last week. Whatever. Oregon has no Eric Decker on their team, and even though Adam Weber isn't about to light the Big Ten on fire, he's still way ahead of Masoli in terms of pocket presence and precision throwing. (Staring his receivers down though? I'd say they're on the same playing field.

Against our zone coverage last season, he completed one-third of his passes in Memorial last year, and threw two terrible interceptions (both times he stared down his receiver, both times Cal defenders made plays on the ball).

The only time Masoli had a good throw against the Utes was in stride, downfield, against what looked to be man coverage (and I have no idea what happened to the defender on the play, either he got beat or tripped up). On another one, the Utah defender overpursued, and that led to a sizable gain. After that? Two more completions.

How much this has to do with having inexperienced receivers and O-line can be debated, but it's not going to be easier going against a Cal secondary that didn't have its greatest week and is looking to perform much better.

Look for the Ducks to try and exploit with the screen and the middle of the field, especially in obvious passing situations. Because, you know, everyone has. And if the run game stagnates, for the Ducks to win, Masoli is probably going to have to up it to at least 55-60%. Any figure below that against zone coverage without a decent run game is a recipe for doom.

Bonus: Extra runs

Music: Duck Tales for the win.

Mostly fly sweeps and draws/options I noticed here. Against Utah, I did notice some fly sweeps to take advantage of the receivers, including one fake. Masoli also did attempt a quarterback keeper here and there (Question: When he's drawing, is that a midline option? TFA identified it in the Holiday Bowl, and I've seen similar plays with these characteristics). I might be missing some of the counter plays, or I mistook some of them for zone rushes.

I expect Kelly to unload more running plays like this to surprise the Bears, because he knows that it's always a tough slog against the Bears's defense. And it'd probably be very difficult to win with the strategy he played last week. Expect either more outside zone runs or sweeps, something out of the ordinary.

California has had pretty good run defense against the best teams in the Pac-10 the past two seasons, even against Ducks. Although Oregon put up 206 ground yards in 2008 and 191 in 2007, it's fairly below their average of 280 and 252 yards per game those respective years, tied for second and sixth best rushing YPG in the country. Also, the Ducks averaged 4.9 and 4.1 rushing yards per carry in 2007 (9th in the country in YPC) & 2008 respectively (when they were numero uno), which are both fairly below those averages.

Stop the run (like we did in 2006 when we held), you stop the Ducks. Keep it going, and Oregon will be in this one to the end. Go for the kill Bears. The race to Pasadena is on.

Oregon Roundtable

TwistNHook — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:00:10 -0000

via www.uoregon.edu

TwistNHook: Every game the last few years in Autzen has been tight.

2007-Last second miracle touchback
2005-Last second missed regulation field goal leads to terrible OT
2003-Blackout gives Oregon momentum in 4th quarter

Cal is 1-2 in those games and could just as easily be 0-3 or 3-0. Odd things always seem to happen up there. Given that USC will be the next weekend at home, some Cal players might be peeking ahead. Who knows?

Avinash: How do people think Chip Kelly will fare as the new leading man at Oregon? He seemed rather quippy during Media Day.

There's no doubt he is an offensive master of the spread offense, especially the spread run, and you'd figure that their excellence will continue into this season. But as we've seen before, being both head coach and offensive coordinator can easily bog you down once you hit a rut (Tedford 2007 anyone?). Will he be able to handle both duties at once?

Do you feel that Oregon will be a better team?

TwistNHook: If I were an Oregon fan, my biggest concern would be about the O-Line. Don't they have large amounts of inexperience there?

Avinash: Maybe, although that inexperience might be deceptive.

via cdn.bleacherreport.com

"Oregon's no huddle-spread offense forces their offensive linemen to run much more than traditional units. Oregon not only relies on an exceptional conditioning program, but also uses frequent substitutions to keep their linemen fresh.

Last year the Ducks rotated nine players in and out of the lineup. While the one constant on the field, Max Unger, is now playing up I-5 for the Seahawks, the Ducks do return four players with significant game experience"

HydroTech: Doesn't sound like their OL will be as green as we thought. I'm concerned about LeGarette Blount, their runningback. This guy is apparently a first round draft pick in the waiting. He's 240 pounds! Almost as big as former Wisconsin runningback and Heisman winner Ron Dayne (250 pounds). I'm hoping Blount's career is the opposite of Dayne's - sucky in college and good in the NFL. This guy, along with Oregon's athletic offensive line, will definitely give Cal's defense a HUGE test. Frankly, just thinking about playing in Autzen and having to deal with Blount makes me feel like we're going to lose and I haven't even mentioned Masoli. So about Jeremiah Masoli. That guy can run and is another threat for the defense. His passing could use some work. He puts up some pretty inconsistent games. Last year he had a game where he threw only 33.3% completions, and another game where he threw 80.8% completions. Overall, he's about 57% passer which leaves a lot to desire stastically.

So, just thinking about Blount, Masoli, their OL, and their home field advantage makes me think this is going to be the second toughest team Cal will face in 2009. I would put this game at perhaps a coin-flip for who wins or perhaps a 60/40 in favor of Oregon.

Ragnarok: In spite of that fearsome rushing attack, I would argue that the key to the Ducks' fortunes vs. Cal lies with Masoli's arm. Let's run some numbers:

Last year, Cal's defense gave up more than 125 yards total rushing five times. They lost four of those games (accounting for all four of their losses), but only gave up more than 200 yards on the ground once, yielding 206 yards on the ground to Oregon in a 26-16 victory. Deplorable field conditions and inopportune turnovers aside, I believe that the Ducks' biggest weakness was their inability to pass the ball when they needed to.

Oregon's option offense hummed along just nicely on the ground, chewing up big chunks of yardage on first and second downs, but when the Ducks *had* to pass, especially on third down, they were abysmal. Discounting Oregon's final, desperate drive (under 2 minutes left, down 2 scores), the Ducks faced 14 3rd downs that day. How'd they do? When they dropped back to pass, they were 0/6, getting sacked once for -3 yards and throwing one interception. That...is pathetic. (They weren't much better rushing. Yes, they converted 3 of 7 times, but only once longer than 3 yards, and they gained a total of 16 yards on 3rd down. Total.)

That final drive? Masoli didn't even play. Although I don't *know* why he was benched, I feel confident in guessing that Justin Roper (who has since transferred) came in because Oregon *had* to pass, and Masoli just didn't provide enough of a downfield threat. If Masoli learns to throw, then I'll be really worried, but as it is, I don't see the Ducks getting through their schedule with fewer than three losses.

TwistNHook: Well, I agree that Masoli being able to throw is key. But I guess I'm higher on him that you are. Did you see him in the Civil War? He was killing it out there. I even said right before that game that Masoli would be key. And when he was killing it out there, the double pronged attack was murderous.

In many ways, this Oregon offense is similar to ours. Great rushing attack with a suspect passing attack. And if the passing attack CAN step it up and become consistent and productive, then they could have something special. That said, I like our talent almost across the board. This is not to denigrate the Oregon talent, including Blount Force Trauma (even though he had something like 5 rushes for 7 yards against us last year). But instead just to look positively upon our talent.

Avinash: I'm not sure even how to count last year's game. They were playing in the mud. Neither Longshore nor Masoli could do much damage when they couldn't see two feet in front of them.

Also, even though the Bears have won four of the last five from Oregon, three of those wins have been incredibly fluky. Two involved the Ducks committing a hundred turnovers in the red zone, the other involved that receiver catching a ball near the end zone that would've set up a game winning field goal, and then casually letting it drop to the ground. Rose Bowl 2004 hopes would've ended that day.

We talk about the Bears failing to execute offensively, but do you guys feel the Ducks have a similar execution problem when they're expected to succeed with their offense?

Avinash: *bold that last question, Twist.

TwistNHook: DON'T TELL WHAT I SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT BOLD!

Why you always bolding so much stuff? Regular font not good enough for you? Why you gotta hat?

Is Jairus Byrd still around? That guy has been around forever. It's like every year they have tons of hype around the secondary and we still pass well against them. If CBKWit wasn't enjoying his relaxing tour of downtown Pyongyang of indeterminate length (somebody call Big Daddy Clinton!), I'm sure he'd agree with my assessment. Those Oregon DBs always seemed to be overhyped.

Ragnarok: I'm not sure what game you were watching, Avi, but there was no mud (Memorial Stadium has turf), and visibility was fine (it was just a little wet, that's all - it's still good, it's still good!).

TwistNHook: Also, I thought Longshore passed the ball decently well, given all the conditions.

Avinash: It was hyperbole! Hyperbole, damnit!

Ragnarok: I guess you just weren't ridiculous enough. Perhaps you could take hyperbole lessons from rollonubears?

TwistNHook: Here is the box score from last year's game.

Longshore went 13 for 27 for 136 yards with an average of 5 yards per reception. In a vacuum, those are not great numbers. When you look at the other side (where the Oregon QBs were averaging 2.1 and 3.6 yards per reception) and given the weather, I thought that that was not halfway bad. Riley actually played better, but was knocked out fairly early in the game.

I am concerned about the fact that Oregon had murderized our QB the last 2 years. If that happens again this year and Sweeney is starting against USC, it could be a LONG game slash season slash off-season slash rest of our lives.

Avinash: Here is Addicted to Quack's perspective.

I do agree that if there is any Pac-10 defense that will slow down, even stifle Best this season, it will be Oregon. Their back seven is one of the fastest in the country, and they can definitely make sure Best doesn't find the holes.

TwistNHook: This story angers me greatly:

EUGENE — Receiver Diante Jackson was one happy camper Friday as the Oregon football team kicked off practices.

Jackson was cleared for academic entry into Oregon, after taking a sociology class and finishing a history class this summer. The NCAA Clearinghouse, which rules on eligibility for players, approved him Thursday.

Damn you, Diante! Why must you succeed and be happy for the other people???????

via blog.oregonlive.com

Of course, the biggest question is new coach Chip Kelly. And everybody is focusing on the offense. But what of the D? How is it going to look?

Oregonlive has this to say:

"[Last year] Oregon finished seventh in scoring defense (28 points), eighth in total defense (390 yards) and last in pass defense (270 yards). The loss of defensive end Nick Reed and rover Patrick Chung, both consummate leaders, made this season's rebuilding job that much tougher.

So the Ducks tweaked their philosophy. Like many teams, they sought to add a little speed to the edges, and the results this spring were encouraging.

Kelly's first move was to bring in feisty defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro, who inherits a line of senior Will Tukuafu and question marks at the three other spots. Brandon Bair, 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds, figures to start at one tackle along with either Blake Ferras or Simi Toeaina. Pass rusher Kenny Rowe or stockier Terrell Turner will start at the other end.

The Ducks haven't ruled out the athletic Josh Kaddu at end as they try to add speed wherever possible and stand up one or two defensive ends to help cover the field. That leaves the middle more open, putting pressure on the steadily improving Casey Matthews at middle linebacker. At his side will be the undersized but fast Eddie Pleasant and Spencer Paysinger, who was second on the team with 95 tackles last season.

Newcomer Bryson Littlejohn was perhaps the biggest eye-opener on defense this spring, showing an eagerness to hit.

Behind them, the secondary is again a strength -- although Oregon ranked last in the league in pass defense in 2008. Hard-hitting T.J. Ward is back at safety, along with Thurmond, who was the team's best player in the spring.

Willie Glasper and Kenjon Barner will battle for the other corner, and Chung's replacement at rover will be either the athletic Talmadge Jackson or the physical Marvin Johnson -- improving juniors with complementary skills."

To me, that bodes fairly well. There is a lot of turn over. On a D that wasn't very good. A lot of camp battles for spots. Maybe some of these guys will take that next step and I'll be eating crow. But reading that leaves me feeling fairly confident (even though I think there's a good chance we lose this game).

Avinash: The last five years we've played them, I have never uttered the phrase, "Oh shit, we have to face the Oregon defense".

Football is obviously a 50-50 games; stop the offense, go at the defense. But generally Cal's offense has held their own with Oregon's defense, sometimes even blowing it open with them. Maybe it's because Tedford has coordinated alongside Allotti for three years and knows many of his tendencies (Although to be fair, Allotti probably does likewise). I'd still say Tedford is the more capable of the two in winning the strategic battles between the two, especially with Ludwig in tow (who also coordinated alongside Allotti at Oregon).

My attention will be focused on the defensive side of the ball with Cal, and how they battle the spread option. Do you guys feel that it'll be more important to beat Oregon's defense, or stop Oregon's offense?

HydroTech: I think the key is to slow down and stop Oregon's offense. Oregon's offense is so high octane and fast, that it can quickly build up a multiple touchdown lead forcing the opposing team to play "catch-up." In other words, the Oregon offense will put their team ahead enough to the point where the opponent has to start playing risky and getting aggressive to reduce that score differential before there is too little time left in the game. I think Oregon's offenses have been really carrying the team and it's the offense, not the defense, that the Cal Football team needs to really stop.

via www.marshawnlynch.info

TwistNHook: How do you guys see this one ending up? I really don't know. I feel like Cal has more talent on paper, but Oregon has such a strong home field advantage. It will be close, no matter how you cut it. I think Cal wins 4-2.

Avinash: I think Oski could put the Duck in a headlock and suplex him.

Yellow Fever: 5-4. I feel a last-second safety deciding this one.

TwistNHook: I see Cal fumbling right at Oregon's 1 yard line down 4-3. Then, Oregon takes over and we get the safety FOR THE WIN!

HydroTech: I'm really hesitant to do too much predicting of how our team will perform when we have such huge questions about our passing game. If our passing game sucks, we could lose big time. If our passing game is decent, we can win a close one. If our passing game is great, then we can crush the life out of them. I could see this being a 20 point loss, I could see a 3 point win, and I could also see a 21 point win. To me, it just all depends on how well our passing game is, and that's something we won't know until the season starts.

Poll

How will Cal do against Oregon?

Big win

37 votes

Close win

170 votes

Close loss

190 votes

Big loss

93 votes

490 votes | Poll has closed

The Oregon Ducks Elevator - Fall Practice Week 2

dvieira — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:00:10 -0000

Nothing like the first scrimmage of fall practice to get the juices flowing for the upcoming season. We are just a couple of weeks away now from the start of the season. Let's check the elevator progress.

Nate Costa: 159 yards on 12-of-15 attempts for 3 touchdowns. He also carried seven times for 45 yards. Coach Kelly says it all. "I feel 100 hundred percent better about our quarterback position than a year ago at this time." Remember that Costa was competing for the starting job last year before he got injured right before the season opener. So far, he seems to be slamming the door on the number two QB position. Could we see a quarterback controversy in the future? Elevator: Up 2 floors

Jeremiah Masoli: Not a great outing for the darkhouse Heisman candidate going 5-13 with two touchdowns. There were some drops but also some poor decisions on reads. When comparing numbers between him and Costa, remember that Masoli is playing with the first team and Costa the second. Elevator: Still in the Penthouse but the rent check is due

LaMichael James: playing in the slot, hanging out in the backfield at running back, James had 4 carries for 21 yards and caught 2 passes for 54 yards, including a 49-yard pass from Nate Costa. Oh, one more thing about that touchdown catch...James characterized as "streaking" for that pass at only about 75 percent. He's making a statement and then some. Elevator: Up 2 floors

Morgan Flint: Tough day in the kicking department all around but Flint had an especially tough outing. He missed all three of his attempts (53, 38, and 45) and also clanked an extra point try. Given that barely anyone could make field goals, Flint has some company in his elevator. Elevator (for all the field goal kickers): Down 1 floor

Jackson Rice: The punting game may not be as bad off as we thought. Rice had 5 punts, averaging 44.8 yards per kick with some real boomers that had no return. Form is good, he just needs to have consistent snaps and build up that confidence. He appears to be the real deal and should get some immediate playing time if this effort holds up. Elevator: Up 1 floor

LeGarrette Blount: Rattling off a 34-yard rush to open the scrimmage was a reminder of that talent level we get with Blount in the backfield. He's had some off-the-field distractions and he's still a bit over his playing weight at 240, but he's getting quicker and should be more than ready and motivated for the opener against Boise State. I was a little worried about his attitude on the field but he's practicing hard and looks to be ready for the season. Elevator: Knocking on the penthouse door

Jordan Holmes: Blew two shotgun snaps in a row. He has some huge shoes to fill with Max Unger leaving but he's got 19 days to get some consistency. He's on the cover of SI with Masoli. Let's hope there isn't a jynx at center. Elevator: Down 1 floor

Morning Quack Fix: Ducks Gearing Up; Casey Matthews On Speed; Unger Turning Heads.

JConant — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:05:24 -0000

Quack's a little late this a.m., but here we go:

Rob Moseley yesterday promised us some video about the "gearing up" process for football players. Here it is. He also included about seeing some new faces - and not seeing a few others - as well as news of Rashad Bauman returning as an intern coach. Read on.
Moseley also continued his position reviews with a report on Oregon's linebackers. This is a group we can all get excited about.
Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune talked with linebacker Casey Matthews about the speed of Oregon's defense.
John Hunt of The Oregonian takes a look at Boise State's preparation for the Sept. 3 date with Oregon. Both teams are probably at risk of getting too fired up for this game, if such a thing can happen.
Bleacher Report has posted a Strategy Report, looking at the match-up with Boise State. Also, you might be a Duck fan if you're familiar with these...
More excitement about Max Unger who's starting his rookie season as a Seattle Seahawk.
Here are Andy McNamara's notes about the start of Oregon's fall camp, along with a schedule of key dates. Meet up at a scrimmage anyone?

If you bump into anything else we'd like to hear about please post it in the comments. Go Ducks!

Morning Quack Fix: Media Day, Reloading the running game; Byrd and Unger sign.

JConant — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:02:39 -0000

Happy Media Day, there's plenty of Quack for everyone.

You can catch streaming coverage of Pac-10 Media Day. Into Twitter? Well, you can tweet with Pac-10 coaches as well.
Things are shaping up for Oregon's running game as the team gets closer to fall practices. LeGarrette Blount is the given among the ball carriers, but Duck coaches and players see depth and talent through the entire depth chart.
Want proof all the Oregon RBs are ready to go? Let's go to the video. Props to the R-G's Chris Pietsch for producing just enough video this summer to keep us all lathered up.
Oregon senior Ed Dickson was named to the preseason watch list for the Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end. His toughest competition is probably within the Pac-10 conference.
Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News is reporting that former Oregon safety Jairus Byrd has signed with the Buffalo Bills. A second round pick, Byrd signed a 4-year deal for up to $4.2 million, with $2.4 million guaranteed. Unfortunately, Byrd won't see the field for a couple weeks as he recovers from a sports hernia injury. Former Duck center Max Unger has agreed to terms with the Seattle Seahawks. Also a second-round pick, Unger gets over $3 million, with $1.95 million guaranteed. Note to Max: you shoulda played safety big guy.
Bleacher Report weighs in with a couple tidbits. First, a preview of Oregon's linebackers. Is this Oregon's return to the "Gang Green" level of play? Also, the BR's Jeff Kneis selects his Oregon All-Decade team...ahh, the memories.
Former Oregon receivers coach Robin Pfluegrad has landed at Montana. No surprise there.

If you find more, don't hesitate to pile on.

Morning Quack Fix: DT position battle, Chris Harper speaks out

jtlight — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:47:26 -0000

It was a very quiet weekend in the Duck world. Here is your post-weekend quack.

If you missed it, or just don't like scrolling down, BisonDuck wrote a great piece on the DT position battle Blake Ferras and Simi Toeaina. If you haven't already, make sure to check that out.
As noted by JConant in a fanpost, Chris Harper opened up with Rob Moseley last week, and cited his reason for leaving Oregon entirely on being homesick. He went so far as to say that he liked the coaching staff, and was becoming more comfortable in the receivers role. While I'm willing to take the kid at face value, some aren't. Take Bob Rickert, taking his crotchety old man schtick to new heights, by mocking the decisions of an 18 year old kid to whom he has little to no connection. Way to keep our fan base looking classy Bob. The comments (heck, it's Oregonlive) are even worse. Good luck to Chris, I hope he finds exactly what he's looking for.
According to Pro Football Weekly, Max Unger will be starting this year in Seattle, though his exact position is not yet known.
Nick Daschel at BusterSports ranked all 30 Pac-10 non conference games. Coming in No. 1 is Oregon/Boise State, just beating out USC/Ohio State. One things for sure, there will be a lot of great football this fall.
The boys over at OBNUG take a look at Boise State's linebacking corp, which could be a weakness, but hasn't received a lot of attention yet.
Lastly, I really like how this ends.

As always, comment away. GO DUCKS!

Seahawks Draft Grade: Max Unger

John Morgan — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:04:01 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Sean Locklear furrows his brow attempting to understand Chris Spencer.

Browse more photos »

Max Unger

Upside:

Unger played left tackle his first two seasons at Oregon before moving to center his final two seasons. Oregon loved Unger's football intelligence and leadership. I shy away from situational qualities like "leadership", but Unger excels at awareness, adaptation and execution. He diagnoses plays quickly; efficiently adjusts to changing conditions, and brings the coach's play to life. He has good five-yard quickness and the footwork and knowledge of angles to be functionally agile. He's not strong or particularly athletic, and his upside is that of a solid to very good regular. He could make the Pro-Bowl on the wave of a great offense or a great and accomplished team.

Downside:

Unger started 51 games at Oregon. He has no injury or character red flags. In Gregg Knapp's zone blocking scheme, his downside is very small. Unger is a natural fit for a fluid zone-blocking scheme that emphasizes decision making and movement over brute force and dominance at the point of attack. Accordingly, Unger's downside arises if Seattle changes blocking schemes. He is not scheme versatile and cannot excel at center or guard in a power rushing attack. He also is weak against the bull rush.

Fit:

Knapp recently said his offense puts increased demands on the center to make line calls. Let's face it, apologies to Chris Spencer, but that favors Unger. Unger isn't too small to play guard, but he might be best as a center. It's undeniably a position Tim Ruskell values highly. As center, Unger is near-perfect match for Knapp's system. He's a born and made zone-blocking lineman. The other part of fit is filling a need. Seattle does not need a center insomuch that they have a recent first-round pick already playing the position, but if that first round pick is unfit to make line calls, then Seattle doesn't just need a center, it's ravenous for one. Spencer might be KO'd from starting at all, but watch to see if Seattle gets creative and tries him at guard. He played poorly at guard in 2006, but that was a long time and whole `nother offense ago. He's powerful and agile and has more potential than Rob Sims and more polish than Mansfield Wrotto.

Oregon's 2009 NFL Draft Summary

dvieira — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:34:19 -0000

Congratulations to the following Ducks that have been selected in the 2009 NFL Draft. Big ups to Nick Reed especially who conquered the odds and went in the 7th round, despite not having that typical NFL body. Sometimes having that motor helps and it will be good to see him remain local. I was also very surprised to have 3 Ducks go in the Top 50 of the draft. That's awesome and hasn't happened before. All of these teams should be competing for playoff spots next year as well. Great job guys!

-- Patrick Chung to New England: 2nd Round, 34th overall

-- Jairus Byrd to Buffalo: 2nd Round, 42nd overall

-- Max Unger to Seattle: 2nd Round, 49th overall

-- Fenuki Tupou to Philadelphia: 5th Round, 159th overall

-- Ra'Shon Harris to Pittsburgh: 6th Round, 205th overall

-- Nick Reed to Seattle: 7th Round, 247th overall

Poll

Which Duck will have the biggest impact on the field next year in the NFL?

Patrick Chung

237 votes

Jairus Byrd

58 votes

Max Unger

206 votes

Fenuki Tupou

9 votes

Ra'Shon Harris

2 votes

Nick Reed

41 votes

553 votes | Poll has closed

Seattle Seahawks 2009 Draft Recap

John Morgan — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:30:46 -0000

More photos » by Jason DeCrow - AP

Seattle's draft was about the future. Seattle lost Julian Peterson and formerly franchised linebacker Leroy Hill is now a free agent. In light of that, drafting Aaron Curry is a lateral move at best for 2009. Check back in 2012, when Peterson is approaching retirement and Curry is terrorizing the league.

Browse more photos »

Draft coverage continues on Monday. We'll do full tape analysis of every Seahawks pick. Tomorrow we start with Max Unger and discuss his potential and his potential at guard.

Field Gulls Draft Day Coverage:

Aaron Curry by John Morgan

Aaron Curry by Doug Farrar

Courtney Greene, Nick Reed and Cameron Morrah

Seattle's Free Agent Signings

Gut Reaction: Seattle adds some talent to put itself back into contention, if outside contention, but Tim Ruskell mostly defers to the future. Aaron Curry is the near-consensus best player in this entire draft, with some calling him a once in a decade linebacker talent. In the short term, with the loss of Julian Peterson and the free agency possible loss of Leroy Hill, this is a lateral move. Curry will be a pro and in his prime when Peterson retires. I love Leroy Hill. I love his ability to explode the screen, blow up the lead blocker and explode into rushers before they achieve positive yards. Curry may never be as good as Hill, but he probably. He'll probably be amazingly better.

Max Unger is another nod to the future. Unger is a center by designation, but an offensive lineman by trade. His slightness might force him to stick at center, but I prefer him at guard. If he's a guard he can be an improvement right away and really solidify Seattle's move to a zone blocking scheme. If he sticks at center, that means the end of the Chris Spencer era, and I know many are saying "not soon enough".

Seattle added some talent at wide receiver and quarterback. Wide receiver Deon Butler is a burner with good route running skills. People are comparing him to Deion Branch and fellow Penn State alumni Bobby Engram, but his skill-set and talent is more like Lee Evans. Butler is a tenacious blocker who added almost 20 pounds before going pro. Mike Teel is a legend at Rutgers. He looks like a David Greene pick.

The big move of the draft, bigger even maybe that selecting Aaron Curry, is Seattle trading their second round pick for Denver's first round pick in 2010. Before losing Jay Cutler, the Broncos were likely to decline. Given that loss and their coaching instability, Seattle's pick could be in the top ten.

Finally, Seattle wrapped it up with three project picks. Nick Reed is a pass rush specialist that needs to get up to NFL speed and NFL size. Courtney Greene is a big upside strong safety that will need time on the practice squad to learn how not be made foolish my NFL offensive coordinators and NFL quarterbacks. Cameron Morrah is an athletic tight end that might play something closer to a wide receiver role in Seattle.

All in all, like it or not, Tim Ruskell is looking towards the future. To better tomorrows.

Morning Quack Fix 4.26.09 - Weekend Edition

dvieira — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:00:13 -0000

Lots of big happenings going on this weekend with Oregon ties. Let's get started. Also, feel free to jump in with additional notes in the thread about the ongoing NFL draft. With 3 Ducks going in the 2nd round, there are a couple of other names out there that may go. 3 Ducks in the Top 50 of the draft has never happened before. USC had the most picks of the Pac-10 with 4 going in the top 50. Oregon was second with 3. Arizona and California each had one. Oregon State's Andy Levitre barely missed the Top 50, getting drafted at 51. Everyone else had bupkiss.

As mentioned in the outset, Patrick Chung goes 34th to New England, Jairus Byrd goes 42nd to Buffalo and Max Unger goes 49th to Seattle. Byrd will get to swap Civil War stories with Oregon State's Andy Levitre who was picked 51st by Buffalo. The reaction coming from Buffalo Rumblings, an SB Nation Blog, is less than flattering about the Byrd pickup.
Baseball has lost 5 straight after losing 2-0 to the Huskies. I think we can say that the team has finally come back to earth after the lofty expectations at the beginning of the year. Oregon is in 9th place in the Pac-10 and you can't argue with that. The Ducks are beating most people's expectations since they were picked dead last to start the season. The series with Arizona to end the season may very well be for last place in the Pac-10.
The defense is looking good for the football team in the latest scrimmage. Chip Kelly also invokes his Major League Baseball trivia comparing the team's performance to a Pedro Martinez outing.
From Rob Moseley's Twitter feed, Got an email alert at 12:22 a.m. saying that Cliff Harris "has been released from the Fresno County Sheriff's Department as of 04/25/2009." Also to note, the charges against him have been reduced to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a public official.
Academic honors for Nick Reed by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
Cal beat up on two of our teams. The Bears defeated the Softball Ducks 7-2. They also squashed a comeback bid by Women's Lacrosse, winning the semifinal game in the MPSF Tournament 10-9.
The Women's 4x400 meter relay team broke a 25-year-old meet record at the Oregon Relays meet. That mark was one of 17 NCAA Regional-qualifying marks the Ducks had on the day.

Check out the ATQ Facebook page and become a fan today! Also don't forget the Addicted to Quack Twitter Feed with all kinds of juicy tidbits. With the Spring Game looming, come on out and meet your fellow ATQ'ers. Stop by dvieira's car and say hi for some nice BBQ and conversation.

[UPDATE]: I'm not sure if I was drunk when I wrote this but I've fixed the title to reflect the accurate date. We have now moved "Back to the Future" - dvieira